Decisions on How to Spend Maseru Rotary Club Grant for 2011

Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 11:31 PM
To: 'Pullanikkatil, Deepak'
Subject: Rotary Club of Maseru grant for Laptops to Lesotho

 

Hi Deepak,

 

Sorry I took so long to get back to you on the Rotary Club grant for Laptops to Lesotho.  Communications with the teachers at the school in Ketane are incredibly slow, and we wanted to include them in this decision.  They have decided that they would like to use the Maseru Rotary Club money to send two teachers/principal to grant writing and fundraising training, probably in South Africa.  We want to get them training in grant writing now, then we will start working with them on submitting actual grant requests, with an eye to them taking over full control of this program in the future, including all the financing. 

 

If that isn't acceptable, or if there is additional money left after that, they would like to use it to hire someone to develop lesson materials for the XOs specific to the Lesotho curriculum.  I'm going to try to work with SchoolNet Lesotho - Camara on this.

 

Unless, the Rotary Club has an objection to these choices, I will get more information on the "where, when, and how much" for these and send you a formal proposal. 

 

Just so you know, we also have feelers out to several Rotary Clubs in the U.S., including ones in Ohio, North Carolina, and Idaho.  The Ohio and North Carolina connections look very promising.

 

Principal Matlabe Teba is in Colorado now on a 3-week professional exchange.  I spent a few days with him there.  He is learning a lot and is very excited about new ideas he hopes to implement back in Lesotho.  As a result of his visit, we also have some new partnerships and funders. 

 

We had a board meeting while he and I were together in Colorado with Andrew Dernovsek, and we've made a couple changes to our overall program.  It's nothing dramatic, except we have decided to delay acquiring internet access for the school because of the technical difficulties and the huge costs that entails. 

 

I will be coming to Lesotho again later this year.  The plan right now is for me to be there in November and December.  We are going to hold another two-week intensive computer training program for the teachers after the end of the school year.

 

The teachers at the school have begun investigating other primary schools in the Ketane area, as the first step in expanding our program.  They have narrowed it down to three schools, and are now focusing on determining the quality of the staff at each.  We hope to select a school later this year, then begin laying the ground work for the expansion, so that we can start bringing computers to the next school by 2012-2013.

 

There's a lot more happening, but I think that covers the most important points for now.  I'll get our formal proposal to you soon.

 

Janissa

 

HIV/AIDS plus TB - the epidemic strikes one of our teachers

We knew before we went to Nohana Primary School that many of the students were directly affected by the twim epidemics of HIV/AIDS and TB which were devastating Lesotho, tragically having lost one or both parents, and/or being infected at birth.  Now, Matlabe has brought us word that one of the teachers at Nohana Primary has been diagnosed with HIV and TB.  The teacher has left the school and returned to his/her family home for treatment.  (We will not identify the teacher's name or gender to protect his/her right to privacy.)  This brings great sorrow to all of us, and it weighs heavily in our hearts.  It is also a huge blow to our project.  The teacher is skilled with computers and very enthusiastic about passing this knowledge on to the students.

- Janissa

FW: ONLINE EVENT - MSF Update on HIV/AIDS Programs - April 6

FYI: 

In case you're interested, here's a notice about an online panel discussion, hosted by Doctors Without Borders, about HIV/AIDS in Africa, with experts on the situation in South Africa and Lesotho.  You can submit questions live or in advance.

Janissa

 

Janissa Balcomb, President

Laptops to Lesotho

janissa@silverstar.com

jbalcomb@laptopstolesotho.org

www.laptopstolesotho.org

 

From: Doctors Without Borders
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 8:50 AM
To: janissa@silverstar.com
Subject: ONLINE EVENT - MSF Update on HIV/AIDS Programs - April 6

 

 

	Having trouble viewing this email? View it online.
	LIVE ONLINE EVENT   |   April 6, 2011
	At a Crossroads: AIDS Treatment Under Threat at a Time of Immense Promise
	EVENT DETAILS LIVE ONLINE EVENT DATE Wednesday, April 6 TIME 8:00 PM Eastern QUESTIONS MAY BE SUBMITTED LIVE DURING THE EVENT THROUGH A CHAT FEATURE ON THE BROADCAST WEBSITE.         Register Now     Join Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff at an online panel discussion for the latest field update on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Featuring: Gilles van Cutsem, Medical Coordinator, Lesotho and South Africa, has worked with MSF for the past decade in HIV and tuberculosis programs. Sharonann Lynch, HIV/AIDS policy advisor, MSF, has worked extensively on issues related to access to medicines, and spent several years working in HIV and TB projects in South Africa and Lesotho. ******************** More than five million people are alive today thanks to an unprecedented global effort to provide HIV/AIDS treatment in developing countries. A decade on, the science leaves no doubt that providing HIV/AIDS treatment makes medical, moral, and economic sense: there have been fewer deaths, fewer people becoming sick from infections such as tuberculosis, and most promising, there is evidence that shows people on HIV/AIDS treatment are nine times less likely to pass the virus on to others.  Despite this evidence, the global fight against HIV/AIDS has never faced more of a threat. During this live webcast, MSF staff will give you an insider's look at how threats to funding come just at the moment that new technology, innovations, treatment models and "game changers," have the potential to possibly break the back of the epidemic. Participants will have a chance to ask about the promising innovations in HIV/AIDS treatment and what's at stake if funding cuts for HIV/AIDS treatment continue. REGISTER NOW
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Matlabe's trip to the US - Part 1

Matlabe Teba, principal of Nohana Primary School in Lesotho, has been in the U.S. for about a week now.  After a brief stay in Denver with Andrew Dernovsek, who gave him a tour of Denver University, he stayed with Andrew and Andrew's parents, Drs. Kim and Ken Dernovsek, in Pueblo West, Colorado.  He had a fantastic day touring the Pueblo West High School and meeting with educational professionals and staff there.  He was very impressed by the school, and has some good ideas he plans to take back with him and implement in Lesotho. 

The school has offered to donate to Laptops to Lesotho 50 desktop computers that will be replaced this year and possibly several thousand laptops that are due to be replaced next year.  There are a lot of details to work out on this very generous offer, and we hope to establish a partnership with the school.  Some of the students are also going to do a fun run to raise money for our project.

At the school, Matlabe, in full Basotho regalia - Basotho blanket and hat, was interviewed by the Pueblo Chieftain newspaper.  You can see the wonderful photo and article that appeared on the front page of the Metro section on March 19th at http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/learning-the-american-way/article_7221cc1e-51da-11e0-bed8-001cc4c002e0.html.  Janissa joined them that evening.

Dr. Kim Dernovsek spent the better part of the next day teaching Matlabe and Janissa about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.  Using the dramatic reduction of HIV in Uganda as an example, she explained why abstinence and being faithful to one spouse is the only real option for reducing the epidemic rate in Lesotho.  That was a real eye opener, and she converted Janissa from being a believer in "safe sex" with condoms to an abstinence and be faithful advocate.

Following that, Matlabe had a chance to meet and talk with Jack Wilson and Sherrie Howey of the Foundation for International Professional Exchange (FIPE), the people who paid for his trip.  They all shared a wonderful dinner at the Dernovsek's home. 

The next day, Matlabe, Andrew, and Janissa spent going over Laptops to Lesotho business and making plans for 2011 and beyond.  They had lunch at a wonderful Mexican restaurant.  In the afternoon, they toured the Dernovsek's doctors' office and downtown Pueblo, including a memorial to Congressional Medal of Honor Winners, the River Walk and all it's beautiful statues, and the national headquarters of Professional Bull Riders with its bronze statue of a bull rider out front.  The highlight of the afternoon, however, was taking Matlabe through an automatic car wash.

Saturday morning, they held the annual meeting for Laptops to Lesotho, with Sarah Gardner participating by phone.  (More on this in a coming blog post.)  Following the meeting, Janissa flew back to Idaho and Matlabe spent a leisurely day with the Dernovseks. 

On Sunday, he attended a Catholic service with the Dernovseks, then was transferred into Sherrie Howey's capable care, starting with coffee and lunch at the Accension Episcopalian Church.  News from Sherrie is that she took him to the Dollar Store, which is now his favorite place.  She also introduced him to dying Easter Eggs and blowing bubbles. 

Sherrie's daughter, Jennifer, a teacher in North Carolina, is working with Matlabe by phone to set up pen pals between her students and the students at Nohana Primary.  Until we get internet established at Nohana Primary School, it will be by snail mail, but what a wonderful experience for both classes!

Matlabe has two more jam-packed weeks in Pueblo, including among other things, a tour of a goat-milking operation, a flight over the countryside in a small private plane, and more school visits.

We would like to thank FIPE, Jack Wilson, and Sherrie Howey for all their hard work to make this wonderful experience possible.

Craig made Contact with Kliptown Youth Project's Simphiwe

I spoke with Simphiwe of KYP this morning. She is still interested in our program. She also said they expect to get 100 more laptops at Lilydale due the efforts of a fund raiser named Hannah Webber.   - Craig

 

Possible Documentary about Laptops to Lesotho

I got the following email from a documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Johannesburg.  She has expressed interest in documenting our project.  I haven't had a chance to look into this in any detail, but if her work is good, this could be a fantastic opportunity for us.  I'll keep you posted.

Janissa

From: chiara frisone
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2011 6:43 AM
To: jbalcomb@laptopstolesotho.org
Subject: documentary about OLPC

Dear Janissa,

My name is Chiara Frisone and I'm a freelance documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Johannesburg. I recently saw a story about One Laptop per Child and was fascinated by this initiative. 

I'd like to find out whether you've thought about documenting the success of OLPC through video and/or photography. I would love to make a documentary about how the project has affected a specific community in Lesotho.

If you'd like to have a look at my portfolio, please visit http://www.cfimages.co.za/. I have a background in international development, having worked with UNAIDS for 4 years. Although I have recently made a career transition into documentary filmmaking and photography, I have not forsaken my passion for development-related stories. 

You will see from my portfolio that I have experience in documentary and photojournalism photography and that I have a number of successful short films under my belt. Currently, I am producing a series of short documentaries for UNAIDS on the integration of HIV in emergency settings.

I also have experience of writing feature stories as I was for many years the content manager of the UNAIDS website for eastern and southern Africa (http://www.unaidsrstesa.org/).

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you be interested in discussing this opportunity further. I'd be willing to work for a reduced fee or pro-bono, should you not have sufficient funds at your disposal. 

Kind regards

Chiara Frisone 

Chiara Frisone        

http://www.cfimages.co.za/

 

Laptops to Lesotho talk at Friends of Lesotho Annual Meeting

I gave a short talk about our Laptops to Lesotho project yesterday at the Friends of Lesotho (FOL) Annual Meeting, via conference call. 

 

Lesotho Ambassador David Mohlomi Rantekoa gave the introductory remarks at the meeting.  I was very pleased when he made an unsolicited reference to our laptops project and said it was a great thing for Lesotho!

 

My talk was well received.  Because it had to be short, I didn't go into a lot of details about the nuts and bolts, but talked more about the need for this kind of work, our philosophy, and how we've tried to encourage and allow the Basotho to lead the project.  I did talk about the training program and writing the contracts.  I praised the teachers and the principals for their enthusiasm and hard work, and I mentioned the great progress they had made.  The talk was followed by some good questions and comments.

 

After the talk, I got the following email from Kevin Freer, a FOL Board Member I have worked extensively with on other FOL business.  I am going to work with him on writing the journal article he suggests in his email.

 

If you would like to hear my talk, there will be a link to a recording of the entire meeting posted on the Friends of Lesotho website at www.friendsoflesotho.org.  There is also a copy of the meeting minutes there.  And I will post the text of my talk on our blog.

 

- Janissa

 

 

 

From: Kevin Freer
Sent: Sunday, March 13, 2011 12:42 PM

I was very impressed with your work, especially what you learned about development work.

This project would make an excellent journal article or a master’s thesis if you don’t already have an MS.

People studying adoption of innovations, including technology, would be very interested in what you have done in Lesotho.

Let me know if you want any help writing up a journal article in your spare time.

Recognition in a publication may help you with a grant application someday.

 

Kevin